Oklahoma City Thunder: Missing Thabo Sefolosha
The Thunder has played 18 games with Thabo Sefolosha in the lineup. The Thunder is 16-2 with Thabo. The Thunder has played eight games without Sefolosha. The Thunder is 4-4 without Thabo.
I don’t think those numbers are a coincidence. Sefolosha is expected to be back soon from a foot injury, and his return can come none too soon for the Thunder.
Now, Sefolosha’s absence has paid some dividends. Daequan Cook has become a dependable scorer in Thabo’s void. In the seven games since Sefolosha was sidelined, Cook has averaged 9.8 points a game and shot 45.3 percent from the field. In the other 18 games this season, Cook averaged 4.6 points and 37.7 percent shooting.
If Cook can maintain that kind of production when Sefolosha returns, maybe the injury was worth it. Everyone wants the Thunder to have a fourth scorer, well here you go. Cook at 9.8 points a game is a heck of a player. His playing time will go down with Sefolosha’s return, but perhaps not significantly. Scotty Brooks has been playing a smaller lineup more and more down the stretch. That could continue, even with Sefolosha’s return. Cook has averaged 30 minutes a game the last seven games; no reason for Cook to start playing the 14-15 minutes a game he was averaging before Sefolosha’s injury.
But despite Cook’s increased scoring punch, the Thunder has missed Thabo, and missed him badly.
Sefolosha is averaging 20.9 minutes a game this season, but his most important minutes are played at the start. The Thunder defense has been anywhere from mediocre to awful at the start of games.
In the seven games without Thabo, the Thunder has allowed an average of 29.9 points in the first quarter. That’s an awful figure. The Clippers scored 36, the Warriors 35, the Blazers 31, the Grizzlies 30 and the Mavericks 29.
Check out these numbers. This is the hot-shooting start of the seven opponents since Thabo was injured:
Clippers: 11 of 18.
Mavs: 13 of 17.
Grizzlies: 13 of 28.
Spurs: 9 of 20.
Blazers: 12 of 23.
Warriors 13 of 17.
Kings: 7 of 8.
Sefolosha would make a huge difference there. The Thunder could use some first-quarter stops. And if Cook can keep producing, Thabo’s absence might have been worth it.
Big 12 football: Any interest in Southern Miss?
A Southern Miss fan emailed me Thursday. Wanted me to drum up some support for the Golden Eagles to get consideration for Big 12 expansion. I have to admit. I hadn’t really thought of Southern Miss. So I told him I would consider the candidacy of Brett Favre’s alma mater.
The University of Southern Mississippi is in Hattiesburg, 111 miles north of New Orleans. Its enrollment is 17,968. USM is in Conference USA and has played solid football for decades.
Southern Miss doesn’t get any respect from the Southeastern Conference. Which is not unusual for a mid-major in the middle, geographically, of a power conference. USM has played Alabama 42 times but never in Hattiesburg. Southern Miss is 4-17 against Bama in the last 30 years, beating the Crimson Tide in 2000, 1993, 1990 and 1982.
Ole Miss won’t play Southern Miss. From 1966 through 1984, the in-state rivals played every year but once. Southern Miss won five of the last seven meetings, and that was the end of that.
Mississippi State won’t play Southern Miss. From 1964 through 1990, they played every year but twice. Southern won 12 of the last 16 meetings.
LSU has played Southern Miss once since 1951. Auburn has played Southern Miss 22 times, but never in Hattiesburg and only once since 1993; the Eagles have beaten Auburn five times, including 1990 and 1991.
Well, you get the picture. In recent years, here’s how Southern Miss has fared against teams from the power conferences:
2011: Won at Virginia
2010: Lost at South Carolina, won at Kansas, lost to Louisville in the St. Petersburg Bowl
2009: Beat Virginia at Hattiesburg, lost at Kansas, lost at Louisville.
2008: Lost at Auburn (27-13), lost to Boise State at Hattiesburg (Boise State wasn’t in a BCS conference, but still interesting).
2007: Lost at Tennessee (39-19), lost to Cincinnati in the Birmingham Bowl.
2006: Lost at Florida, beat North Carolina State in Hattiesburg, lost at Virginia Tech.
2005: Lost at Alabama (30-21), lost at North Carolina State.
Not bad. The Eagles win in Hattiesburg against decent opponents, lose on the road to SEC heavyweights.
So what would Southern Miss bring to the Big 12? What does the Big 12 need? Let’s examine the key components.
TV market: Not much. Not much at all.
Television attraction: You don’t have to play in a big market to be a good TV draw. West Virginia shows us that. But would the networks be attracted to Southern Miss? I don’t see it. While I would get excited about a Southern Miss-Oklahoma State or a Southern Miss-Texas Tech or a Southern Miss-Kansas State game, I don’t know that Joe Fan would.
Strong academic reputation: No. The Big 12 took an academic hit with the loss of Nebraska, Colorado, Missouri and Texas A&M. All four were in the prestigious American Association of Universities (Nebraska has since been booted). Southern Miss wouldn’t help fill the void.
Competitive football: Absolutely. Southern Miss would be a solid football addition and would get better.
Competitive basketball: Not really. USM is coached by Larry Eustachy, who was a heck of a coach at Iowa State. But Southern Miss really hasn’t done much in basketball. Ever.
Other sports: No one really cares, but Southern Miss is solid in baseball.
Facilities: Southern Miss is like most mid-majors. Money is a huge problem. USM doesn’t have the budget to produce the facilities you see at most Big 12/SEC schools.
Stadium: M.M. Roberts Stadium seats about 36,000. That’s not enough. You don’t have to have an 80,000-seat stadium. But anything under 45,000 is just not big enough.
Geography: The Big 12 has branched East, but not southeast. Stretching the conference into a new section of the country could be good, but it also could be bad. Going into the heart of SEC country would not likely turn many Southerners into Big 12 followers. West Virginia, yes. Southern Miss, no. There could be some recruiting advantages, but probably not anything substantial. The travel would not be bad, but the Big 12 needs to fortify its link to the northeast more than it needs to send another tentacle in a different direction.
Potential for growth: Here’s the best argument for Southern Miss. Bringing in Southern Miss not for it is, but what it could be. If given access to Big 12 financial resources and exposure, what could Southern Miss become? It absolutely could surpass the likes of Mississippi State and Ole Miss; the Golden Eagles dang near have done that without any help at all. Could Southern Miss build up its fan base and its stadium and its following and its recruiting profile? Yes.
But here’s the problem. You can say the same thing about some other schools. Cincinnati, for example. The same things we said about Southern Miss, you can say about Cincinnati. Except Cincinnati has actually produced at a higher level than has Southern Miss, thanks to its opportunity in the Big East. And the upside is even greater, I think, for Cincinnati. If you’re going to grow your own Big 12 worthy school, why not a Cincinnati, which provides a further link to West Virginia?
I like Southern Miss. Always have. Always pull for the Golden Eagles, even before old Larry Fedora was named head coach. But Southern Miss is not right for the Big 12.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Northwest Division getting tougher
We checked in on the NBA’s collective division standings a few weeks ago. The Northwest Division was the league’s best. Here’s an update: the Northwest is getting tougher.
Going into Thursday night games, the Northwest has the league’s best record by a longshot, and with Minnesota’s rise as a competitive team, there are no also-rans in the division: OKC 20-5, Denver 15-11, Utah 13-11, Portland 14-12, Minnesota 13-13.
That’s a combined 23 games over .500. No other division is even close.
The Central Division is five games over .500. The Central has the mighty Bulls and the upstart Pacers, plus the troubled franchises in Milwaukee and Cleveland don’t stink. Only Detroit does in the Central.
The Southwest is one game under .500. Four solid teams in San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and Memphis, but the woebegone Hornets, too.
The Pacific Division is six games under .500. The Clippers and Lakers are a combined 10 games over .500, but the Suns, Warriors and Kings drag down the Pacific.
The Southeast Division is nine games under .500. The Southeast has three great to good teams (Miami, Atlanta, Orlando), but two awful teams in Charlotte and Washington.
The Atlantic Division is 12 games under .500. Philadelphia and Boston are good, just like it’s 1984 or something. But the Knickerbockers, Netropolitans and Raptors are no good at all.
I don’t think the Central can slip below .500. The Northwest would have to win games at a crazy pace to put all five other divisions collectively under .500. But clearly as we approach mid-February, the Northwest Division is clearly the NBA’s best.
Big 12 expansion: Answering questions after DeLoss Dodds speaks
Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds spoke at the Lufkin, Texas, chamber of commerce meeting last Friday and talked a little about conference realignment.
Dodds actually said a lot of interesting stuff. You can read the story here. Here’s the part about Big 12 expansion: “Dodds also mentioned that future Big 12 expansion could target Louisville and Brigham Young University. Dodds said that his personal choice would be Notre Dame, and that he is working hard to garner that addition.”
Like I said, interesting. I got an email from a Brigham Young graduate – who lives in Michigan, of all places – who asked a series of excellent questions. I thought I would try to answer them.
Are talks starting back up in earnest between BYU and the Big 12, or is this just idle banter by Dodds?
My guess is idle banter. I don’t sense much momentum for BYU. I think the addition of West Virginia makes the Big 12 much more likely to look East than West.
If talks are heating up, is there a feeling towards how serious the Big 12 and BYU are feeling, respectively, about each other?
The question of BYU’s seriousness is interesting. I was a big proponent of BYU last summer, but then I heard from all kinds of BYU people about how pleased the Cougars are with independence and how they wouldn’t join the Big 12 unless the terms were just right. I think that makes BYU a longshot. I think the Big 12 enjoyed the jubilation we saw in Fort Worth and Morgantown over TCU and West Virginia joining the conference. I don’t think the Big 12 wants someone who is lukewarm about the conference.
Will a new commissioner make much of a difference in expansion plans or are the schools going to take the lead on that decision?
Schools. The Big 12 – and the Big Eight before it – always has been a weak-commissioner conference. I don’t mean they’ve hired weak men, I mean the office is weak. In the Big Ten and the SEC and now the Pac-12, the commissioners rule with a great deal of power. That’s not been the case in the Big 12 or the Big Eight for at least 30 years and maybe before that. So I don’t think a new commissioner will have a huge impact on expansion decisions. Rather than hiring a commissioner to tell the Big 12 what to do, I think it’s more likely the Big 12 tells prospective candidates what it wants, then hires someone who expresses the ability to get the job done.
What is the timing on a new Big XII media deal?
The Big 12 last summer forged the 13-year deal with Fox Sports that will pay about $90 million a year. The Big 12′s contract with ABC/ESPN for over-air telecasts goes into summer 2016 and pays about $65 million a year. But that could be renegotiated before 2016.
Are the networks pushing for 12 (or more) teams and a conference championship?
Great question on the networks. I don’t know. But my guess is that the networks are focused not so much on how many, but who? I know that the networks were the champions of West Virginia’s addition. West Virginia brought an excellent profile to Big 12 football telecasts. So anyone of that stature would be enticing to the networks. Someone like BYU, probably yes. Someone like Louisville, probably no.
Are Oklahoma and Texas (or other schools) fighting that push for 12 and a conference title game?
Somewhat. Texas, for example, does not want a title game. And the Longhorns aren’t the only ones. OU, I would say, is either way on the title game but is more gung-ho about expansion. OSU, probably in the same boat. I think the Old North Three (KU, K-State, Iowa State) would like to get back to the 12-team format, since their teams would have a better shot at a Big 12 championship under that scenario.
Is media pressure the only way the Big XII goes to 12 (or more) teams?
No. Heck no. I mean, Texas is probably the school least excited about expansion, but as Dodds himself said, there are potential targets out there.
Does Dodds think there realistically is a chance to pry away Notre Dame from the Big East now that the Big East seems to be on the ropes a bit or at least seems to be watering down their non-football sports a bit?
Sounds like it. But people at OU are pessimistic that Notre Dame would do something. I think Notre Dame as a full-fledged member has no chance. Notre Dame as an auxiliary member, fully functional in all sports except football, with a scheduling agreement for football? Maybe that would have a chance if the Big East continues to flounder. Notre Dame’s teams need a place that makes a little sense. But I wouldn’t hold your breath.
Would Notre Dame to the Big 12 kill BYU’s shot?
Wouldn’t help. Wouldn’t help at all. If somehow Notre Dame came aboard, and the Big 12 added another school, I would think the eastward trend would hold. If you’ve got Notre Dame and Louisville and West Virginia, then all of a sudden the disconnect with Middle America isn’t so severe.
If BYU were to go to the Big 12, would there be times that BYU fans would be unable to view the games (or have to purchase a premium regional sports pack)? If so how often?
No. Every football game would be available on one of the Big 12 networks (ABC, ESPN, Fox, etc.) or would be free for BYU to telecast however it sees fit, which I assume would be BYUTV. In basketball, same way.
Is BYUTV (or BYU’s ESPN deal for that matter) problematic because it looks a lot like the Longhorn Network?
BYUTV is no problem at all. In fact, that probably would help the transition, because the Big 12 has a school with something similar. But the BYU/ESPN deal would have to go the way of the wind for the Cougars to be admitted to the conference. The Big 12 would not accept BYU’s ESPN deal. BYU’s games would be served up via the Big 12 contracts, unless it’s one of the rumdum games that the networks don’t want. BYU could keep one (or conceivably two) game for itself to distribute, but it would have to be an undesirable game to the networks.
Would BYU’s uniqueness/idiosyncrasies make for a difficult relationship in the Big 12 long term?
Sounds like it to me. People in the Mountain West have horror stories about dealing with BYU.
Oklahoma football: Castiglione likes the job he’s got
The search for a permanent Big 12 commissioner is beginning. Do not expect Joe Castiglione to be a candidate.
The OU athletic director has been mentioned as a candidate to replace Chuck Neinas, when the interim commissioner steps down, probably at the end of this school year. And it’s not the first time Joe C. has been mentioned. He’s well-respected, he’s been in the conference (Big Eight included) as an AD for 19 years and has been on the campus of Missouri or OU for 30 years.
One sign of Castiglione’s status: He was named to the prestigious NCAA basketball committee, replacing ousted Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe.
But Castiglione told me this week he’s not interested in the commissioner’s job. Maybe some day, he said. But not now. He likes the job he has. He also likes the type of job he has.
Joe C. said the best part of his job is the regular interaction with student-athletes and their events. Feeling a part of their success and cheering them on to victory. Castiglione said there is something invigorating about working on a college campus, in any endeavor. Plus, his sons are still in school, the oldest just entering high school.
The Big 12 commissioner job will be interesting. Challenging, engaging, gratifying, if done well. It’s a hairy time for the Big 12, but lead the league through these rocky waters, and the new commissioner would be a hero, or as much of a hero as an administrator can do.
But truthfully, the athletic director at Oklahoma can be a part of that process, too. The athletic director at OU will have a decent say in the direction of the league. And gets to go to ballgames several times a week and support kids he knows. And gets to go to work every day on a college campus. And gets to raise his family in a town they love and in the only home the boys have ever known.
Don’t look for Joe C. to become a Big 12 candidate.
University of Tulsa football: Will the Hurricane’s conference change?
Has the Big East finished its plundering of the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA? According to ESPN, Big East commissioner John Marinatto says his league is finished after taking San Diego State and Boise State from the Mountain West, and Central Florida, SMU, Houston and now Memphis.
So now Conference USA and the Mountain West, which had been talking about a loose confederation anyway, are talking full-fledged merger. Which is probably the best alternative for the beleaguered leagues. But not necessarily the best thing for the University of Tulsa.
Here are the remaining schools in Conference USA: Tulsa, Southern Miss, Texas-El Paso, Rice, Tulane, East Carolina, Alabama-Birmingham and Marshall.
Here are the remaining schools in the Mountain West: Nevada, Fresno State, Nevada-Las Vegas, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado State, Air Force and, for football only, Hawaii.
Conference USA would be an apt name for such a 16-team league. Five time zones represented.
Tulsa would be in the geographic center of such a conference. Generally speaking, being in the geographic center of a conference is a good thing. Not this time.
The conference is too wide spread. Tulsa’s closest conference member would be Rice, 500 miles away in Houston. The Hurricane would be without its other recent neighbors. Houston U., SMU and Memphis.
After Rice, the closest conference members are Southern Miss (621 miles), UAB (636 miles), New Mexico (650 mileS), Air Force (677 miles), Tulane (700 miles) and UTEP (800 miles).
That’s a killer travel conference.
And check out a few other mid-major conferences:
Western Athletic: Idaho, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, San Jose State and Utah State, with Denver, Texas-San Antonio, Texas State, Texas-Arlington and Seattle joining soon. Denver, UTA and Seattle don’t play football.
Sun Belt: Arkansas State, Troy, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Arkansas-Little Rock, South Alabama, Troy and Western Kentucky. UALR and South Alabama don’t play football.
Think about that. The state of Louisiana alone has mid-majors in three conferences: the WAC, Conference USA and the Sun Belt. The state of Texas has mid-majors in the same three conferences.
Isn’t it about time we had some conference realignment based on geography? I know, there’s a world of difference between Tulsa and New Mexico State, in terms of commitment to football. Between Tulsa and Texas State.
But wouldn’t it make a lot more sense for TU to be in a league with Arkansas State and North Texas and Louisiana Tech, than in a league with Marshall and East Carolina and San Jose State?
An Oklahoma/Texas/Arkansas/Louisiana league — heck, include Southern Miss, too — would be a decent football conference. Tulsa, North Texas, Texas-San Antonio (which just finished its first year of football), Texas State, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Tulane and Arkansas State.
That’s not like the 1990s, when Tulsa joined a revamped WAC that included the likes of Utah and Brigham Young. But it’s not half bad. And it makes a ton more sense economically.
Jim Thorpe Award: Les Miles back in town
It was good to see Les Miles on Tuesday night at the Jim Thorpe Award. He told our gal Jenni Carlson that he hasn’t been back often since leaving OSU for LSU seven years ago. But as reminded the crowd in attendance at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum of what occurred while he was in Stillwater from 1995-97 and 2001-04.
The Oklahoma City bombing. 9/11. The OSU plane crash. A lot of tragic events that defined us as Oklahomans and Americans.
Miles was scheduled to be in OKC for the Thorpe Award last February, to honor LSU’s Patrick Peterson, but Miles’ son’s emergency appendectomy the day of the banquet kept Miles home in Baton Rouge, La. So he got a 2-for-1 trip this year, since another LSU player, Morris Claiborne, won the 2011 Thorpe.
Miles joked that he was given three minutes to talk about Claiborne, but he would take six, since Miles didn’t get to talk last year. Peterson was at the banquet and presented the trophy to Claiborne.
Miles said Peterson and Claiborne left their marks on the LSU program.
“Patrick Peterson (an NFL rookie sensation with the Arizona Cardinals) played with a smile,” Miles said. “Worked hard. Prepared hard. What he left was a swagger. Put in the work in the film room and the practice field, then take the field with confidence, and you are a dangerous player.”
Miles said Claiborne’s character would be remembered at LSU. Miles said Claiborne wasn’t highly-recruited, but that Miles sat in Claiborne’s home in Shreveport, La., “telling him this day might come. You could tell, his mother had prepared him for that path.”
Miles marveled at Claiborne’s demeanor upon arrival at LSU. Claiborne was asked what position he wanted to play. “What position do you need me,” Claiborne responded. Cornerback, he was told.
“Mo, he did everything you would ask a player to do, to stand for all the right things,” Miles said. He said Claiborne “represents everything that is good and right in college football … a humbleness, a patience to learn the right skills, then repeat it, repeat it, repeat it.
“Both these men had great impacts. I have to say, thank you, I am very much in in their debt.”
Eli Manning: NFL’s greatest quarterback in playoff road games
Eli Manning now has two Super Bowl titles. That’s impressive. Not many quarterbacks have multiple Super Bowl titles. Let’s see. Bart Starr, Bob Griese, Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw, Jim Plunkett, Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, John Elway, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger. And now Manning.
Impressive. But this is more impressive. Eli Manning now has five road victories in the NFL playoffs. Not many NFL quarterbacks have five road playoff wins. As in none, other than Peyton’s little brother.
Manning’s NFC Championship Game win at Green Bay raised his playoff road record to 5-1. That’s not counting the neutral-field Super Bowls. That’s road games. That’s games in unfriendly environs, which are incredibly hard to win.
Johnny Unitas, Kurt Warner, Doug Williams, Bobby Layne and Jeff Hostetler all were NFL champion quarterbacks. They combined for five road playoff wins. The same as Eli Manning all by his lonesome.
Steve Young, Y.A. Tittle and Norm Van Brocklin all are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Combined, they were 0-7 in playoff road games.
Peyton Manning and Joe Montana are on virtually everyone’s list of the top five quarterbacks in NFL history. They each went 2-5 in playoff road games.
Troy Aikman, Bob Griese, Jim Kelly, Warren Moon and Dan Marino are in the Hall of Fame, too. They reached a combined 11 Super Bowls, winning five. Their combined playoff road record: 5-19.
Eli Manning’s career playoff road record: 5-1.
We can do this by decade.
2000s: Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, Matt Hasselbeck and Philip Rivers, a combined playoff road record of 1-10 (Rivers has the win).
1990s: Vinny Testaverde, Kerry Collins, Drew Bledsoe, Neil O’Donnell and Jeff Garcia, a combined playoff road record of 1-11 (Bledsoe has the win).
1980s: Bernie Kosar, Boomer Esiason, Ken O’Brien, Danny White and Ron Jaworski, a combined playoff road record of 1-11 (White has the win).
1970s: Billy Kilmer, Ken Anderson, Steve Bartkowski, Jim Hart, Bert Jones and Fran Tarkenton, a combined playoff road record of 1-12 (Tarkenton has the win).
1960s: Daryle Lamonica, Don Meredith, Roman Gabriel, Frank Ryan, Joe Namath, Sonny Jurgensen, John Hadl and Milt Plum, a combined playoff road record of 0-13.
In this era, with extra rounds of playoffs, quarterbacks get more opportunities at road playoff games. But they’re still tough to win. They also get more opportunities at road playoff defeats.
But Eli Manning’s only playoff road loss was 23-20 at Philadelphia, back in the 2006 playoffs, the year before the Giants won Super Bowl 42.
Only 18 quarterbacks in NFL history have a winning record in road playoff games.
Some are Hall of Famers: Len Dawson (4-1), Roger Staubach (4-1), John Elway (3-2) and Bart Starr (2-1).
Some are headed to the Hall of Fame: Tom Brady (3-2).
Some could be headed to the Hall of Fame: Eli Manning (5-1), Ben Roethlisberger (3-1), Aaron Rodgers (3-1).
Some were tough old birds: Jake Delhomme (4-1), Earl Morrall (3-1), Steve McNair (3-2), Jim Plunkett (2-1), Richard Todd (2-1).
Some are inexplicable: Mark Sanchez (4-2), Tony Eason (3-1), Vince Ferragamo (3-2), Trent Dilfer (2-1), Chris Chandler (1-0).
Here are the all-time playoff road records of the top 150 or so quarterbacks in NFL history:
5-1: Eli Manning.
4-1: Len Dawson, Jake Delhomme, Roger Staubach.
4-2: Mark Sanchez.
4-4: Joe Flacco.
3-1: Aaron Rodgers, Tony Eason, Earl Morrall, Ben Roethlisberger.
3-2: Tom Brady, John Elway, Vince Ferragamo, Steve McNair.
3-4: Mark Brunell, Donovan McNabb.
3-7: Brett Favre.
2-1: Trent Dilfer, Jim Plunkett, Bart Starr, Richard Todd.
2-2: Dan Fouts, Otto Graham, Jim Harbaugh, Craig Morton, Dan Pastorini, Jay Schroeder.
2-3: Terry Bradshaw, Jim Everett, Mark Rypien.
2-4: Randall Cunningham.
2-5: Peyton Manning, Joe Montana.
1-0: Chris Chandler.
1-1: Steve Beuerlein, George Blanda, Bubby Brister, John Brodie, Marc Bulger, Elvis Grbac, Pat Haden, Jeff Hostetler, Stan Humphries, Jack Kemp, Bobby Layne, Chris Miller, Bill Nelsen, Babe Parilli, Tobin Rote, Fran Tarkenton, Jim Zorn.
1-2: Drew Bledsoe, Duante Culpepper, Rich Gannon, Tommy Kramer, Philip Rivers, Johnny Unitas, Michael Vick, Kurt Warner, Doug Williams.
1-3: Troy Aikman, Joe Ferguson, Bob Griese, Brad Johnson, Jim Kelly, Jake Plummer, Phil Simms.
1-4: Ken Stabler, Warren Moon, Danny White.
1-6: Dave Krieg, Dan Marino.
0-1: Aaron Brooks, Ty Detmer, Boomer Esiason, Doug Flutie, Trent Green, John Hadl, James Harris, Rob Johnson, Bert Jones, Joe Kapp, Byron Leftwich, Ken O’Brien, Neil O’Donnell, Marc Wilson, Andy Dalton, Matthew Stafford, Matt Ryan, Tim Tebow, T.J. Yates.
0-0: Sonny Jurgensen, Joe Namath.
0-2: Ken Anderson, Steve Bartkowski, Pete Beathard, Kerry Collins, Charlie Conerly, Gus Frerotte, Roman Gabriel, Jeff George, Steve Grogan, Jim Hart, Ron Jaworski, Scott Mitchell, Milt Plum, Frank Ryan, Y.A. Tittle, Norm Van Brocklin.
0-3: Steve DeBerg, Jeff Garcia, Bernie Kosar, Daryle Lamonica, Don Meredith, Vinny Testaverde, Steve Young, Drew Brees.
0-4: Matt Hasselbeck, Billy Kilmer.
College basketball: Shooting itself in the foot
The listed attendance for the Oklahoma-Missouri basketball game Monday night was 5,036. That kind of attendance malaise has OU officials — and officials at many a college basketball port — worrying how to restore fan interest in a sport that has staggered.
Here’s an idea. Quit doing things that invite fans to stay home.
The OU-Missouri game started at 6 p.m. on a Monday. Just like I wrote a few weeks ago about Bedlam starting at 6 p.m. on a weekday, that’s an asinine starting time. Made for television, of course (wait; it’s not television, it’s ESPN. It’s a made-for-ESPN tip time).
The Big 12 scheduled nine conference games for 6 p.m.: Texas A&M at Baylor, Bedlam and Mizzou at OU already have been played. Still to come are Iowa State at OSU (Tuesday night), A&M at Texas Tech, Kansas at Baylor on Wednesday night, Iowa State at Baylor next week, followed by Kansas State at Missouri and Kansas State at Texas A&M. And that doesn’t include a Missouri-at-OSU 6:30 p.m. start.
6 p.m. weeknight starts in Norman or Stillwater (or College Station or Austin or Ames or Columbia or anywhere else) are not easy for fans. If you live in Edmond, trying to get to Norman or Stillwater by 5:45 p.m. is difficult. You’re rushing, you’re hitting rush hour traffic, it’s a mess. Same with the folks in Tulsa. If you live in Norman or Stillwater, it’s easier, but still not easy.
Big 12 officials erred in allowing 6 p.m. starts, just so games could be placed on ESPNU or ESPN2. All the games are going to be on regional or local television anyway, no matter when they start. So the concession was for national broadcasts. Let me assure you. No one nationally is watching Oklahoma-Missouri or Oklahoma State-Iowa State. The fans in Riverside, Calif., or Grand Rapids, Mich., or Richmond, Va., are watching something else. Now, Baylor-Kansas on Wednesday is different. Which brings up another question. Why are you playing one of your games of the year at 6 p.m., even for television purposes?
OK, let’s move on.
This basketball season, OU and OSU collectively have played Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Saint Louis, Virginia Tech twice, Arkansas, New Mexico, Alabama, Tulsa, SMU, Santa Clara, Washington State and Missouri State. Not a bad list of opponents. Not great, but not bad.
Fourteen non-conference games that you might be interested in watching.
Of those 14, three were played in either Norman or Stillwater. OSU hosted Virginia Tech and Tulsa, OU hosted Arkansas. The rest were road games (but just four) or neutral site games (seven).
We want to get fans interested in college basketball, to the point they will want to be at as many games as possible, and yet before conference play, the best games are played nowhere near campus.
So let me get this straight. You play at times completely inconvenient for fans. You play games in the early season that are completely uninteresting. Then you wonder why fans haven’t migrated to your team.
The answer is clear. College basketball in general, Big 12 basketball in particular, does not really care about the ticket-buying fans. Officials at every school like to talk about it. They like to talk about ways to increase fan interest. But when it comes to really catering to customers, the truth is apparent. Fans are not a priority. Attendance is optional.
If the Big 12 really cared about the attendance issue, it would not schedule 6 p.m. starts.
If the sport really cared about the attendance issue, it wouldn’t sanction all these neutral-site tournaments that don’t count against a team’s scheduling allotment, which means an OSU-Stanford game isn’t played in Stillwater or Palo Alto, but in New York. Which means an OU-Saint Louis game isn’t played near the arches of the Norman campus or the big arch next to the Mississippi River, but in Anaheim, Calif.
Oklahoma football: Would Bob Stoops agree to another Florida State series?
Florida State’s phone call to OU, gauging the Sooners’ interest in another home-and-home football series, certainly is fun to think about. The Orlando Sentinel reported the inquiry in a story you can read here. Another Sooner-Seminole series? Just about every football fan in America would endorse it.
Florida State needs a home game, after West Virginia canceled out on the Seminoles. OU wouldn’t mind a road game, since the Sooners’ non-conference game at TCU has become a conference game, replacing OU at Texas A&M.
Under the scenario, OU would in 2012 play Notre Dame at Owen Field and Florida State at Doak Campbell Field. Then in 2013, OU would host FSU and play at Notre Dame Stadium. Then the Sooners would play a rumdum each season for their third and final non-conference game.
Tough schedule. Rugged, even. Heroic, considering the time in which we live.
But not terribly out of line from what OU was going to be playing anyway in 2012. Switching out a trip to Texas A&M for a trip to Florida State. I’d say those two programs have been about the same the last six, seven years. Big name, so-so game.
So for a school scrambling to fill out its schedule, which OU is, it makes some sense.
But it has virtually no chance of happening. It won’t get past the gatekeeper, Bob Stoops.
Stoops doesn’t seem interested in beefing up the schedule. I asked him last week about the possibility of playing Missouri or Texas A&M non-conference. Mizzou, in particular, is looking for non-conference opponents for 2012.
Stoops laughed that laugh that means, you’re crazy.
But also, Stoops would want no part of another matchup against his brother, Mark, Florida State’s defensive coordinator. Bob Stoops was downcast after a 47-17 rout of the Seminoles in Norman in 2010. He obviously wasn’t keen on beating his brother so bad.
Stoops was more upbeat in September 2011, when OU won 23-13 at Florida State. Mark Stoops’ defense was much better in defeat than the previous year.
But still. I don’t see Bob Stoops signing up for another Florida State series as long as Mark Stoops is there. Even if Bob Stoops was willing to take on another heavyweight.
And you know? I can’t blame him. Every family is different. Some brothers don’t seem to mind playing against each other, or at least don’t let it bother them publicly. But some do.
I’m reminded of some passages from Jay Wilkinson’s recent book about his dad, Bud Wilkinson. In Dear Jay, Love Dad, Jay Wilkinson publishes dozens of letters from his father while Jay was in college.
Jay Wilkinson became an all-American football player at Duke, which in the early 1960s was an Atlantic Coast Conference power.
Early in the 1962 season, it became apparent that an OU-Duke Orange Bowl was a possibility.
Bud Wilkinson’s letters to his son initially were hopeful of a father-son showdown.
Sept. 2, 1962: “Our squad looked in good shape at our meeting yesterday. We’ll soon know. I hope we can play well – and see you in the Orange Bowl…”
Sept. 11, 1962: “I hope your ball club is faring better with injuries than ours … I felt yesterday we’d meet you in the Orange Bowl – mainly because Tommy Pannell is such a great player. This morning in pass scrimmage, he broke his ankle…”
Almost 50 years later, Jay Wilkinson wrote that at the season’s midpoint, “the possibility still existed that Dad and I could share a common destiny in that season’s Orange Bowl. A bid to the game would represent the attainment of goals we were both working hard to achieve. But then it occurred to me, like a sudden movement witnessed out of the corner of one’s eye, how I would feel if placed in a spot where my success would mean my father’s failure. Suddenly, I was not so sure that would be a good thing.”
More from Bud Wilkinson.
Nov. 12, 1962: “I believe you can win the rest of them. 8 and 2 is a marvelous record. If we win Saturday I am a little sad that after such a fine season you may have to play against Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl!”
It didn’t happen. Duke finished 8-2, but the Orange Bowl invited Alabama.
Jay Wilkinson wrote, “Deep down inside, I was relieved. As the season had progressed, I had grown less and less enthusiastic about a possible Oklahoma-Duke Orange Bowl matchup. I had no interest in working against my dad; it was one thing to kid about it – but I could not see myself competing against him and the tradition I admired, respected, and loved.”
If you want to argue that it’s different for a father and son, I can buy it. If you want to argue that it’s different when it’s not coach vs. coach, but coach vs. player, fine.
Different, yes. But not necessarily different result. It’s still not comfortable for all kinds of families. Still not something you want to do.
The Wilkinsons discovered that 50 years ago. Bob Stoops already knows it. Don’t look for him to agree on another series with Florida State.
